Clean Eating: Key Factor in Preventing Cancer

Summary: Removing toxins from your diet is beneficial for battling cancer risk, as well as for preventing a number of other chronic conditions.

Air Date: 4/11/16

Duration: 10 Minutes

Guest Bio: Matthew McCurdy, MD, PhD, DABR,

Matthew McCurdy, MD, PhD, DABR, is a board-certified radiation oncologist. He treats all types of cancer. Dr. McCurdy graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering, which led to a job as project manager for NASA, where he worked on John Glenn’s second space journey. He completed his medical school and residency training at Baylor College of Medicine, where he served as chief resident. Dr. McCurdy received a PhD in bioengineering through the MD/PhD program funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. McCurdy has published extensively on novel radiation oncology treatments and has presented talks at many national meetings. He received the Young Oncologist Award and Roentgen Research Award. The International Association of Radiologists named him a Top Doctor in 2013. “I join my patients in the fight against cancer and provide hope. I’ve managed the cancer care of my own family, and I believe in treating each patient as a member mine. I treat the whole patient during and after treatment using the latest evidence-based and integrative medicine.”

In our society, countless toxins exist for the purpose of growing food and keeping food fresh.

Removing those toxins from your diet is beneficial for battling cancer risk, as well as preventing a number of other chronic conditions.

According to Dr. Matthew McCurdy, board-certified radiation oncologist, eating a plant-based, whole food diet should provide you with almost all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to fight off disease.

In fact, he advises that people stay away from taking too many isolated compounds, as in some cases, doing so may allow for more harm than good. Two supplements that Dr. McCurdy does suggest are turmeric and fish oil.

Something that Dr. McCurdy sees in his practice is that if a patient has been diagnosed with cancer or another life-threatening disease, it's easier to suggest dietary changes for both patient and family members/caregivers. However, he'd like to get to a point where everyone, whether faced with disease or not, makes these necessary changes for overall health and wellness.